Short story of how my brother leon brought home a wife?

3 Answers

How my brother Leon brought home a wife is a short story by author Manuel E. Arguilla. Manuel E. Arguilla was well known for his short stories such as this story and many of his works were published throughout the 1940s especially. Arguilla lived between 1911 and 1944, at which point he was captured, tortured and killed by the Japanese army.

The story 'How my brother Leon brought home a wife' is perhaps the most successful and popular of Arguilla's short stories. The story is written from the point of view of a young boy called Baldo and his recollections of the night that he met his brother's wife, Maria, for the first time. The story is descriptive and eloquently written and makes you feel as though you were there yourself.

The story starts with Baldo meeting Leon and Maria and how he took them on a ride home through the fields near their home on a cart pulled by their family bull. The story describes the smell, look and feel of the fields and the surrounding areas and speaks well of Maria, describing her as gentle and full of laughter. It becomes apparent that Leon is taking Maria to meet his family for the first time, and she is nervous about meeting them, his father especially.

As the story continues Baldo, Leon (who is called Noel in the story as this is Maria's nickname for him, Baldo presumes that this is because Noel is Leon backwards) and Maria all arrive at the family home. The story ends with the three of them entering the father's room upstairs and they begin talking to him. If you would like to read the story yourself you can follow this link to read the story yourself.